This disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine stator vane. In particular, the disclosure relates to reinforcement for a platform of the stator vane at an intersection of the platform and rail.
A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Air entering the fan and compressor sections is compressed and delivered into a combustor section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor section. The turbine section typically includes high and low pressure turbines.
The turbine section typically includes stator vanes supported by static structure and are axially interspersed between arrays of turbine blades. One type of stator vane configuration uses multiple airfoils joined by common radially spaced apart inner and outer platforms, which may be referred to as a “doublet.”
The outer platform typically supports a circumferentially extending rail that provides sealing features for axially adjacent structure. An axial pressure-induced load on the doublet causes compressive stress to be concentrated at the intersection of the outer platform and rail in a region between the airfoils.
A typical doublet design uses a constant fillet radius between the outer platform and the rail, which includes a constant or uniformly tapered thickness. Other designs have employed a pair of discreet circumferentially spaced gussets, which are relatively thin, for example a circumferential width of 0.10 inch (2.54 mm) or less.